1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns apparatus for cleaning an overhead drain trough associated with the lower extremity of a pitched roof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most residential-type houses are constructed with pitched roofs. The sloped or angled nature of the roof prevents the accumulation of water, and in many instances minimizes the accumulation of snow. At the lowest extremity of a pitched roof, generally referred to as the eave, there is positioned a drain trough or gutter, the purpose of which is to catch the water which runs off the roof, and channel it to a downspout which leads the water away from the foundation of the house.
In the course of time, such drain gutters tend to accumulate debris such as fallen leaves, which obstruct the gutter and render it ineffective for its intended purpose. The considerable weight of the debris plus entrapped stagnant water causes the trough to sag, warp and eventually pull away from the eave.
The cleaning of the trough is often done manually by climbing onto the roof or by employing a ladder which is leaned against the trough. Either approach is difficult and often perilous.
Devices utilizing long poles have earlier been disclosed for enabling a person to clean a gutter while standing upon the ground beneath the gutter. Such devices are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,743,339; 3,972,552; 4,057,276; 4,114,938; 4,196,927; 4,310,940; 4,319,851; 4,930,824; and 5,288,118. Such devices generally employ a working head positioned atop the pole and configured to seat downwardly into the gutter. The head functions either to push, scoop, lift or grab debris within the gutter. By moving the head laterally along the gutter in successive manipulations, the debris is removed. In those devices where the head contains moving components, a lever, rope or other elongated force-conveying manipulation means extends between the head and the lower extremity of the pole.
The aforesaid gutter-cleaning devices are generally difficult to use because of their relatively heavy weight The head component is usually not easily separable from the pole component, thereby presenting difficulties in packaging for marketing purposes and in storage by the user. The head component in many such devices is subject to malfunction during interaction with the debris in the gutter, and the head component is often configured to operate in just a single lateral direction within the straight, horizontally disposed gutter. Such directional limitation causes one extremity of the gutter to be inaccessible to the device, and said extremities are of critical concern because downspouts which service the gutter are usually associated with an extremity of the gutter.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for cleaning an eaves drain trough.
It is a further object of this invention to provide apparatus as in the foregoing object which can be hand-operated by a person standing upon the ground below said drain trough.
It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the aforesaid nature which can operate in both lateral directions of the drain trough.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide apparatus of the aforesaid nature easily amenable to disassembly to a compact storage state.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the aforesaid nature which is of light weight, and simple and durable construction amenable to low cost manufacture.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.